Avatar to Become a Broadway Play

Avatar has become the biggest grossing movie ever made, so it was only a matter of time before 20th Century Fox and others tried to really cash in on the James Cameron epic. The studio is teaming up with an accomplished Broadway producer to bring Avatar to the stage. Find out the details after the jump. Details are sparse at the moment, as apparently the deal hasn’t been finalized, but Donald B. Frantz (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast) is set to produce the play, titled Avatar: I See You. While no actors or director have been set, Frantz apparently wants Julie Taymor if her Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark keeps being delayed. Given Taymor’s resume (mainly working with Frantz on The Lion King), it’s safe to assume this is going to be a musical with impressive costumes and great songs. I can’t imagine how they’ll design the set to match Pandora.

The plot is to be sort of an Avatar 1.5, as they don’t want to mess with the planned film sequels. In case you are wondering, Cameron is on board, but he won’t be very hands on. If all goes to plan, the play could open as early as this Fall. A big part of that timeline, of course, is who they choose to play the lead roles. While Frantz is supposedly looking for unknowns (they’re wearing make-up, so recognizable faces isn’t important), one big name floating around for Jake Sully is Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame.